The AGM is the one meeting every owner has a right to attend and vote at, and it's where the year's budget, levies, and any rule changes get formally decided. A well-run AGM moves through its agenda efficiently and leaves owners feeling informed. A poorly prepared one drags on, generates disputes, and sometimes produces resolutions that don't hold up to later scrutiny. Preparation is what makes the difference.
Legal Timeframes You Can't Skip
The Sectional Titles Schemes Management Act (STSMA) and its Prescribed Management Rules set specific notice periods for AGMs, typically at least 14 days' written notice to all owners, along with copies of financial statements, the proposed budget, and details of any special resolutions to be considered. Getting these timeframes wrong can make resolutions passed at the meeting open to challenge later.
Checklist for Trustees Ahead of the AGM
- Confirm the scheme's annual financial statements are finalised and, where required, audited
- Prepare the proposed budget for the coming year, covering both the administrative and reserve funds
- Draft the agenda, including any proposed rule changes or special resolutions
- Send the notice and all required documents to owners within the legal timeframe
- Confirm the venue (or virtual meeting platform) and quorum requirements
- Prepare a clear explanation for any significant levy increase, ideally in writing, ahead of the meeting
Checklist for Owners Ahead of the AGM
- Read the financial statements and proposed budget before the meeting, not during it
- Note any questions about specific line items or increases in advance
- Check whether you need to submit a proxy if you can't attend in person
- Review any proposed rule changes and consider how they'd affect you
During the Meeting
A good chair keeps the meeting moving through the agenda in order, ensures votes are properly recorded, and doesn't let a single issue consume the whole meeting at the expense of everything else on the agenda. Minutes should capture resolutions accurately, since they become the formal record trustees and owners rely on afterward.
After the AGM
Minutes should be finalised and circulated to owners promptly, and any resolutions passed (new levy amounts, rule changes) need to be actioned, not just recorded. This is typically where a managing agent's involvement continues past the meeting itself, implementing what was resolved.
Why This Often Falls to a Managing Agent
Between the legal notice requirements, financial statement preparation, and meeting procedure, AGM preparation is genuinely time-consuming to do properly. Many trustees find that having a managing agent handle the administrative side of AGM preparation, while trustees focus on the substantive decisions, produces a smoother meeting and a more defensible set of resolutions.
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